7 May, 2002

To whom it may concern:

I am writing regarding my ongoing dispute with the St. Tropez Hotel concerning a charge for a reservation I cancelled.

On 7/15/01, I was initially charged. The hotel rebutted the charge, claiming that the reservation was never cancelled. I provided proof to Capital One that the reservation was, in fact, cancelled. The St. Tropez’s bank accepted the chargeback, and credited my account on 1/3/2002. This, in the opinion of any reasonable person, resolved the original charge of 7/15/01.

The St. Tropez Hotel, upon being notified by their bank of the chargeback, charged my account again on 1/23/02. I didn’t stay at their hotel, I didn’t make a reservation, and this charge was completely unauthorized. Their stated reason for billing my account was that I’d charged back against them, and they intended to recover the funds. At this point, I again contacted Capital One to dispute the charge.

Now, it appears that the St. Tropez’s bank is making the incredible claim that their credit, issued on 1/3/2002, was provided to offset the St. Tropez’s charge of 1/23/02—a charge that occurred nearly a month later! If this bank has such keen ability to see into the future that they can predict transactions weeks in advance, I think their involvement with Las Vegas would be substantially more lucrative than defending chargebacks against a questionably scrupulous hotel.

The first chargeback is proved, resolved, and disposed of. The second charge was bogus, fraudulent, and unauthorized. While I’m sure Capital One considers it generous to “split the difference” and thank me for my “understanding,” I am not adept at understanding things that make no sense. I realize that I’m legally liable for the first $50 of any unauthorized charge to my account, so it’s entirely within your right to collect it. However, if you exercise that right, I will exercise the right to close my account. Please understand that the reason for this is not because I want something for nothing—it’s that I can’t imagine doing business with a company that would accept such a bogus, nonsensical claim as that which the St. Tropez’s bank is making. That is, unless you ask them for lottery numbers and prove me wrong…

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